WTO sets up panel on China's steel import duties after Japan complaint

TOKYO (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization (WTO) has set up a dispute-settlement panel on China's anti-dumping duties on stainless steel imports following a complaint from Japan that the duties violate trade rules, the Japanese government said on Tuesday.

The panel was established on Monday in response to a request Tokyo made in August, arguing that China's anti-dumping tax violates the WTO's General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

In July 2019, China began imposing anti-dumping duties on stainless steel products from Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and the European Union, saying a surge in imports was hurting its domestic industry.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)